2011 Nissan Leaf Charging Questions: Can I buy in UK and make it back same day...

blobert

Hi Guys,

Question for Nissan Leaf owners.

I'm planning to fly to the UK this week to buy a 2011 model and hopefully bring it back home on the ferry from Holyhead the same day.

The cart is located just beside Manchester Airport, so about 120 miles from Holyhead. My plan is to fly over in the morning (how early depends on charging time on the way back) and make the 5:15pm fast ferry back to Dublin.

Now North Wales is not full of car charging locations but I've found a Nissan dealer at about halfway (60 miles) that say they have 3 fast (but not rapid) chargers. I assume by this they mean the Type 2, 3 Phases ones.

The car comes with a home charger but not a type 2 to type 1 cable so I'm going to buy one, but I'm sure the Nissan garage will have one I can use in any case.

My question is how long it will take for the car to charge on a fast charger? I'd seen 3/4 hours written some places but then then read this about 2011 models:

"While original Leafs were happy to charge at CHAdeMO rapid charging stations from empty to 80 percent full in a little over 30 minutes, charging times at a public Type 2 Charging Station resulted in an agonising six to eight hour wait thanks to the 16amp current limit of the car’s on-board 3-kilowatt charger."

Is this the case? If it's going to potentially take me 6 hours to charge the car on the way back it's not looking doable. I'm guessing if I drive the first 60 miles extremely gingerly at about 80-90kmph I should not need a full charge in any case but if it's likely to take ages I will still be tight for time.

Let me know what you think?

PS does this cable look ok for use for on street charging here etc: http://shop.zerocarbonworld.org/cables/32a-type2-type1-cable.html

It's 32 amp but I assume it will still work ok with the older leaf?

Finally I've been reading some stuff implying that charging standards may change. I'm guessing I should be ok with this Leaf for the next couple of years in terms of on street charging, fast chargers etc?

Thanks in advance!

Matt Simis

The more "enthusiast" types will be along to give you a real answer, but your post and conundrum is the definition of apocatastasis (backwards progress). Just an awful state of play for the 21st century.

blobert

Matt Simis wrote: »

The more "enthusiast" types will be along to give you a real answer, but your post and conundrum is the definition of apocatastasis (backwards progress). Just an awful state of play for the 21st century.

Thanks, with the exception of this unusual trip (I rarely drive from Manchester to Holyhead) the car should be perfectly suited for what I want it for (it'll never be needed for trips beyond it's range). It's just this initial getting of it that might present a bit of a challenge/adventure:)

Alfagtamini

Hi
What about the P&O Liverpool to Dublin ferry?

Yes it's a night crossing but i use it all the time and you get a cabin and dinner and breakfast.

You should make Liverpool port on one charge

colm_mcm

Can you charge on the boat?

blobert

paulryanmini wrote: »

Hi
What about the P&O Liverpool to Dublin ferry?

Yes it's a night crossing but i use it all the time and you get a cabin and dinner and breakfast.

You should make Liverpool port on one charge

Thanks, I looked at that.

I'm quite prone to sea sickness and don't fancy 7-8hrs on the ferry, can do the quicker one in under 2 hopefully so am more likely to survive that in one piece:)

blobert

colm_mcm wrote: »

Can you charge on the boat?

You can on Irish Ferries bigger boat (Ulysses) but I'm planning on going on the Swift one (no charging as far as I know) as it comes back at a better suited time (would not make the earlier one)

I only live 5km from Dublin Port so assuming I've made it to the ferry, chances are I'll make it home fine:)

beazee

Best place to ask: https://www.facebook.com/groups/107445206006743/

dingding

Also how will you pay for the charge. Will you need to have an account with some electricity supplier over there.

Not sure how that works.

blobert

dingding wrote: »

Also how will you pay for the charge. Will you need to have an account with some electricity supplier over there.

Not sure how that works.

Thanks, I asked the garage and they said it was fine to charge for free, I think the Nissan garages here offer the same.

Interceptor

I wonder how long before some enterprising chappy comes up with a petrol generator you could put in the boot of your Nissan Leaf with a cable you could run out the window and use to charge it. You just have to sit in a layby for six hours hoping the fumes don't kill you...

Most UK dealers can arrange car delivery within the UK for ~€100 regardless of distance - I'd be checking to see if they could put your car on a truck and save yourself the anguish of wondering if it will make it to the ferry on a single charge.

'c

blobert

Interceptor wrote: »

I wonder how long before some enterprising chappy comes up with a petrol generator you could put in the boot of your Nissan Leaf with a cable you could run out the window and use to charge it. You just have to sit in a layby for six hours hoping the fumes don't kill you...

Most UK dealers can arrange car delivery within the UK for ~€100 regardless of distance - I'd be checking to see if they could put your car on a truck and save yourself the anguish of wondering if it will make it to the ferry on a single charge.

'c

Thanks, from a value/time point of view getting it collected/delivered to Ireland for about €300 is the way to go. However I want to go see it in person and considering it's only about 110 miles from the port it's quite tempting to bring it back myself if it can be done in one day.

I suspect it should be quite doable to drive 60 miles, charge for about 4-6 hours and do the remaining 50 miles to Holyhead, just hoping to get confirmation from some Leaf owners.

Thanks again.

Graham_B18C

Out of curiosity what is the range of one of these? I thought it was around 110km? Surely if you took it nice and easy and stopped for a two hour charge you'd make it back? Or am I totally wrong with the range?

beazee

160 km depending on the outside temperature, prevailing winds, ascents/descents, no. of passengers and cargo, how heavy your feet is, average speed and amount of energy consumed by lights/radio/air condition. You could probably reach up to 220 km with the wind, travelling at 85 km/h with one passenger.

The range indicator (xxx km left) to the right on the display is just an estimator. Don't put too much attention to it. The safest to do is to count the bars. Each bar is ca. 11-13km range, won't fool you.

beazee

blobert

beazee wrote: »

Thanks for that. Do you think my original plan sounds feasible?

Seeing as it's a 2011 model am I right in saying that charging at a Type 2 charger I'd be looking at 6-8 hours for a full charge?

If I have to hang around for 6-8 hours in Wales I'll struggle to make the ferry, I could probably do 4-5 but not sure if that will give me enough of a charge.

Thanks again

Marcusm

blobert wrote: »

Thanks for that. Do you think my original plan sounds feasible?

Seeing as it's a 2011 model am I right in saying that charging at a Type 2 charger I'd be looking at 6-8 hours for a full charge?

If I have to hang around for 6-8 hours in Wales I'll struggle to make the ferry, I could probably do 4-5 but not sure if that will give me enough of a charge.

Thanks again

There's a 9pm or so Stena ferry IIRC. THat might give you the extra time.

It's also quite an undulating route with some significant rises. NOt sure you'll always recover the energy on the descent.

For Forks Sake

Apropos of bugger all, but did Mad_Lad forget to recharge himself or something? He's normally all over any EV thread like a shot...

blobert

Marcusm wrote: »

There's a 9pm or so Stena ferry IIRC. THat might give you the extra time.

It's also quite an undulating route with some significant rises. NOt sure you'll always recover the energy on the descent.

Thanks, there do seem to be some hills involved, nothing that massive though:



The biggest incline is during the first 60 miles, the rest is not that bad.

The later ferry could be a fallback if I'm late but would rather get the earlier faster one.

Any further suggestions from Leaf owners of the feasibility of this trip would be much appreciated!

Donie75

There is a regular charger on the Ullyses Ferry operated by Irish Ferries.
http://www.esb.ie/electric-cars/electric-car-news-and-events/electric-car-press-releases/electric-car-charging-on-irish-ferries-routes.jsp

blobert

Donie75 wrote: »

There is a regular charger on the Ullyses Ferry operated by Irish Ferries.
http://www.esb.ie/electric-cars/electric-car-news-and-events/electric-car-press-releases/electric-car-charging-on-irish-ferries-routes.jsp

Thanks for that, the issue is making it to the ferry in Holyhead, I live 5km from Dublin port so no issue on the other end.

Seeing as there's an element of doubt I think I'll just go on the simpler route of having it inspected and then collected assuming all is ok.

€250 to have it delivered to my door seems a lot easier than my mad North Wales adventure which has potential to go badly wrong:)

Thanks again

beazee

I would give it a try. There must be someone who will prove it's feasible

Not sure if UK are covered but Irish Leafs are sold with AA cover.
If things went tits up you just call for a flatbed truck to the nearest charging point.

pavelpro

blobert wrote: »

Thanks for that, the issue is making it to the ferry in Holyhead, I live 5km from Dublin port so no issue on the other end.

Seeing as there's an element of doubt I think I'll just go on the simpler route of having it inspected and then collected assuming all is ok.

€250 to have it delivered to my door seems a lot easier than my mad North Wales adventure which has potential to go badly wrong:)

Thanks again

Can i ask from whom you received such a good quote for the shipping? Thank You.

naturalblue

Hi. Just so you know all Nissan Leafs have a Pan-European pickup service. If you were to run out, you simply ring the number and they will arrange a pickup and drop off a chargepoint.

blobert

naturalblue wrote: »

Hi. Just so you know all Nissan Leafs have a Pan-European pickup service. If you were to run out, you simply ring the number and they will arrange a pickup and drop off a chargepoint.

Thanks, can't see details of this anywhere, they do have a roadside repair but doe this cover running out of batteries?

Max Power1

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Apropos of bugger all, but did Mad_Lad forget to recharge himself or something? He's normally all over any EV thread like a shot...

He's plugged in somewhere im sure.
He'll be along in 6-8 hours dont worry!

blobert

Just as a conclusion for this (if anyone is interested) I flew over yesterday morning and made it back on the ferry in the afternoon with plenty of time to spare. Drove the initial 60 miles at sub granny (several overtook me) speeds to conserve battery power. There were more hills than anticipated but I still made it to my stop in the Nissan garage with plenty of charge.

I then managed to get the car back to full in 4 hours (killing time in a North Wales town wasn't as bad as feared) and then drove at more normal speeds for the second shorter leg safe in the knowledge I'd make it to Holyhead easily.

Back home about 2 hours later with the fast ferry and avoided sea sickness (one of my main concerns).

Fairly painless other than very early start and I'm glad I made the trip to make use of all my (otherwise pointless) research into North Wales, Irish Sea Forcasts etc:)

Also very happy with the car thus far, suspect I may become an EV convert. Signed up for Zurich's special electric car service: http://www.zurichinsurance.ie/car-insurance/electric-car-insurance.htm which somehow managed to offer me comprehensive insurance plus a whole load of extras for over €200 less than my previous policy (insured elsewhere with only 3rd party)!

Anyway thanks again for the advice on this.

biko

Sound, thanks for updating.

Wheres My ForkandKnife

OP congrats on the new car.

I read this thread when you first posted but I didn't have anything useful to add. Why were you so concerned about getting it back to full charge?It took four hours to get to full charge but say you only have three hours available could you not have charged it to 75% and made it home or do you generally have to charge it to 100%.

I thought you were fairly dismissive of the last 5km in Ireland.If it only had 4km of juice left it didn't matter if you had 5km left to go or 50km, you are still on the side of the road :-) but it's a moot point as you made it.

For me, leaving aside any other criticisms of the leaf, the deal breaker would be cheching the topology of a route before I set off. That said I wish you the best of luck with it.

coolisin

Enjoy it OP seems like you thought it through and it worked out for.

September1

Congratulations on new car, I did same, just used Liverpool ferry to avoid driving through North Wales.

ZC cable is one that is used for on street charging, I purchased mine from http://evconnectors.com/
It is worth to have it longer, as you might be forced to park no that close to charging post.

bear1

Pics?

Bigus

How did the VRT work out ?

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Wheres My ForkandKnife wrote: »

For me, leaving aside any other criticisms of the leaf, the deal breaker would be cheching the topology of a route before I set off. That said I wish you the best of luck with it.

Yeah I think that kinda shows the level we are at currently in EV tech. Not far.

But hey if you don't do that kind of driving often and have an ICE car as a backup when needed then it is a win win

NIMAN

afaik VRT is zero on EVs?

September1

NIMAN wrote: »

afaik VRT is zero on EVs?

There is 5k discount I think, which should mean zero VRT on anything up to 35k

Mech1

Ahh, disappointed , I was sure this was gonna be the next "Top Gear" challenge. You should have phoned the BBC and got it delivered by captain slow and maybe made a few bob.

I can't believe I'm only seeing this thread now. :eek:

Congrats OP well done no doubt you'll enjoy every minute of it.

What are your first impressions ?

How many miles are on it, is it a 2011 ?

There is a rumour that a 3rd party converter will be available from the U.S to make use of the 22kw chargers all over Ireland which are many times more than the QC points. It will charge at 11 kw meaning a completely empty to full charge in 2 hours, or replace 10 kwh roughly in 1 hour.

Op how many miles do you expect to cover daily ?

Bigus

NIMAN wrote: »

afaik VRT is zero on EVs?

that's why im asking

Bigus

Bigus wrote: »

that's why im asking

There is 0 vrt on a pure electric car.

NIMAN

So does the price difference between the UK and Ireland make it worthwhile to go through the hassle of buying an EV in the UK and bringing it back?

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

So does the price difference between the UK and Ireland make it worthwhile to go through the hassle of buying an EV in the UK and bringing it back?

Absolutely, you can save a good 5K Euro's and if you're lucky 6K. Irish dealers will let them rot before selling them cheaper.

+ you get a portable EVSE that you won't get here it's worth 200 Euro or so, it means you can plug into any 3 pin domestic socket outlet without fear of tripping.

You do however have to get a spark to install the home EVSE to allow faster charging at home.

Maybe ask what cable to get and run it yourself and all he has to do is connect it at the consumer unit and outside at the EVSE.

Do you know what mileage you'll be doing daily ? you got to allow 60 miles in winter on a cold day . If you can charge at your destination such as public charging or fast charge/work charge then happy days, you can cover 120 miles a day easily or 150-160 a day in summer, and more if you fast charge. It's all free atm.

Anyone looking to buy a 2nd hand leaf should get one of these and learn what it means.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Turbo3.Leaf_Spy_Lite



It will give an idea of battery health far, far better than Nissan. It will tell you in % what capacity is lost or not. But don't confuse state of charge against capacity.

So far the capacity loss is in the hot regions of the U.S.

More detail here.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=12789

BMJD

Is everything in miles or can you change it to KMs?

The main reason I bought an Irish Prius over a UK one was that the UK ones were all miles and poxy gallons and it couldn't be changed. Would have driven me mad.

BMJD

BMJD wrote: »

Is everything in miles or can you change it to KMs?

The main reason I bought an Irish Prius over a UK one was that the UK ones were all miles and poxy gallons and it couldn't be changed. Would have driven me mad.

I'd imagine the speedo is in mph and miles.

You won't have to worry about mpg but miles per kwh. and they're far far cheaper.

TBH I don't know if you can actually change it to kmh, but that would be the least of my worries.

60 mph is just under 100 kph, 50 mph about 80 kph and 30 mph is almost the same as 50 kph.

September1

BMJD wrote: »

Is everything in miles or can you change it to KMs?

The main reason I bought an Irish Prius over a UK one was that the UK ones were all miles and poxy gallons and it couldn't be changed. Would have driven me mad.

Yes, you change all units to km unlike Prius. It is also not as noisy as Prius.

blobert

Deleted User wrote: »

I can't believe I'm only seeing this thread now. :eek:

Congrats OP well done no doubt you'll enjoy every minute of it.

What are your first impressions ?

How many miles are on it, is it a 2011 ?

There is a rumour that a 3rd party converter will be available from the U.S to make use of the 22kw chargers all over Ireland which are many times more than the QC points. It will charge at 11 kw meaning a completely empty to full charge in 2 hours, or replace 10 kwh roughly in 1 hour.

Op how many miles do you expect to cover daily ?

Thanks, very happy with it thus far. Very comfortable, really easy and relaxing to drive and really impressive acceleration (though realistically I'm only going to do this once or twice then go back to my usual slow driving style!)

It's a 2011 model, quite high mileage at 27,000 miles but is in perfect condition and still has 12 battery bars. Owned by an NHS doctor previously in the UK according to log book so I suspect it's been driven sensibly/well looked after. Booked in for a service with Nissan next week but I suspect all is fine with it in any case.

Couple of questions:

(1) Am booked in for VRT exam next week, am guessing I can't apply to ESB for home charger/card for on street charging till it's registered in Ireland?

(2) I've swapped the speedo to KM but the computer still seems to be working in miles, can't see away to change that?

(3) How do I get set up connecting to it remotely through phone/computer, am assuming I need to register it somewhere to allow me access?

Thanks again

blobert

blobert wrote: »

Couple of questions:

(1) Am booked in for VRT exam next week, am guessing I can't apply to ESB for home charger/card for on street charging till it's registered in Ireland?

(2) I've swapped the speedo to KM but the computer still seems to be working in miles, can't see away to change that?

(3) How do I get set up connecting to it remotely through phone/computer, am assuming I need to register it somewhere to allow me access?

Thanks again

Question 1 correct, the grant for installation of home charger is only on the purchase of new ev's. That's why I suggested asking a spark what cable to get and run it yourself and call him back to connect it either end. It might save a few quid.

If you intend to get a new leaf with 6.6 kw charger you'll need to upgrade the charger and cable so make sure if you intend to get a new leaf or any ev with 6.6 kw charging that you at least get the 30 amp cable, the evse can be changed later along with the rcd in the consumer unit.

Question 2 & 3 for September1

Another thing, don't go away on holiday and leave the car at 100% charge, ideally leave it at 60% and plugged out.

Don't charge to 100% if you don't need to, this "will" extend battery life, I know some people dispute this because the car itself takes care of the battery pretty well, which it does. But by leaving 20% at the top and 20% at the bottom can really extend battery life. It's the same for any lithium battery and one reason I stop my Dell battery charging at 60% because it's plugged in most of the time and I charge it to 100% when I need it. Likewise if you need all the range then charge away.


I would be really grateful if you could get the leafspy app and bluetooth dongle to get a real battery report and not a Nissan one. 27K miles is not that much but it will be interesting to see what % is lost in the British/Irish climate as heat will have the greatest impact.

NIMAN

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you know what mileage you'll be doing daily ? you got to allow 60 miles in winter on a cold day . If you can charge at your destination such as public charging or fast charge/work charge then happy days, you can cover 120 miles a day easily or 150-160 a day in summer, and more if you fast charge. It's all free atm.

tbh, I am considering changing car next year, and the Leaf is on my list of possibilities.

My commute to work is approx 50 miles, 25 each way. Need up to 60 as sometimes I do a bit of running around on my lunch breaks.

At present my work place does not have an EV charger, thinking of asking them do they have any plans to install one. They are a big multi-national and are always keen to be seen to be tackling waste, environmental issues etc, so they might think about it. Anyone any idea how much it would cost them to get one installed for their employees?

Apart from that commute to work, the car only covers shorter trips when not at work, mostly a few miles to shops, family etc, so I think the Leaf would suit my needs. We have a 2nd car should we ever need to do longer runs.